The QC International Pink Film Festival: Showcasing The Best of Queer Cinema

Founded in 1995, the International Pink Festival (IPF) is the largest, most well-attended LGBT ﬁlm festival in the Philippines. The 8-day festival is renowned for its wide-ranging ﬁlm selections from major independent and international ﬁlmmakers with more than 35 ﬁlms from 15 countries.

The Quezon City International Pink Film Festival envisions at creating experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary ﬁlms from around the world that promotes and advocates positive and long lasting effects on LGBT and the community. In addition to QCIPFF’s 8-day film screening, the Festival will reach out more than 100,000 people annually with year-round programming to schools, communities and provinces. QCIPFF also offers a Gender Advocacy Seminar Workshop that is embedded on our select films for all audiences specifically Students, LGBT organizations, corporate leaders, non-government organizations and private individuals on topics regarding LGBT awareness, HIV education, LGBT rights, and employment.

Celebrating the 75th Founding Anniversary of Quezon City, the QC International Pink Film Festival features contemporary classics of the country’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender films. Poised to become the largest LGBT film festival in Asia, the festival also features the best of world cinema in its program.

Here is the schedule of the films for QC International Pink Film Festival:

Opening the festival is Nick Deocampo’s “#pinQCity,” a glimpse into Quezon City’s LGBT community and its struggle for recognition. Known for his prizewinning films that set the pioneering trail for gay filmmaking in the country, Deocampo is also the Festival Director of the Pink festival.

Showcasing the best in local queer filmmaking, the line-up boasts of award-winning films that look into the young and old queer generations. Auraeus Solito’s “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” is paired with Sigrid Andrea Bernardo’s “Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita.” The senior gay community is represented by Dolphy’s appearance as comfort gay in Gil Portes’ “Markova.” Aging prisoners attempting to live a new life provide hilarious fun in Joey Paras’ “Wala na bang ibang Title?” which premieres in the festival. The largest program covers the indie film scene. Leading the pack is Joel Lamangan’s “Lihis” joined by other prize-winning films like Eduardo Roy Jr.s’ “Quickchange,” Jay Altarejos’ “Unfriend,” Alvin Yapan and Alemberg Ang “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa,” Yapan’s “Gaydar,” and Benjamin Garcia’s “Philippino Story.”

The short film program sizzles with works that touch on themes of representation. Included are two works by Rod Singh like “Alindanaw” and “Bilanggays,” Chloe Ann Veloso’s “Ina-Tay,” Nerissa Pecadizzo “Astray,” and David Corpuz’s “The Ordinary Things We Do.” The documentary program is strongly represented by both recent and classic works. Baby Ruth Villarama’s “Jazz in Love” is a sensitive cross-cultural romance of modern love. Deocampo’s classic “Oliver” paired with his “The Sex Warriors and the Samurai” are films that still remain to be relevant depictions of lives lived under the Marcos dictatorship and the onslaught of globalization.

Screening for one week at Trinoma Cinema 3, these Filipino queer film classics will be joined by films coming from the international community. For more information, visit the website: www.qcpinkfestival.com